Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Interview with Jessica Love!

Holy crap balls, readers! one of my favorite people in this UNIVERSE is right here answering my questions and being generally FABULOUS. I'm not so excited to share her 'cause she is mine responses with you! Jessica Love is, honestly, the reason I decided to try writing a book. She made everything look so effortless and meaningful, which really inspired me--and continues to do so! You can find Jessica at her blog HERE and follow her on twitter HERE!

I won a query critique from my agent and I sent off my query, not even considering she would do more than just give a crit. She ended up wanting to see a full, and my full wasn't even done. Smooth move, Jess. I took six months to finish revising the book, and, luckily, she was still interested!

How many manuscripts have you started/completed?

The one that got me my agent was the very first one I finished! The one I'm working on now is my second! I completed NaNoWriMo in 2011, but that book was never done. And I have a few random beginnings of ideas that never panned out.

When did you fall in love with words?

I've been a voracious reader since I first learned to read. And I've been writing in one way or another (pen pals, blogging, whatever) for just as long. Words have always been a powerful force in my life.

What is your favorite type of book to read?

Contemporary realistic YA romance.

Who's the one character from a book that you wish was real and in your life?

ONE? Well that's just impossible.

My first love is Dexter from This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen...but I also love Remy, too. So I'll just say both of them. We can all hang out.

What is your favorite hot beverage?

I'm a coffee addict. I love me a good flavored latte, but plain coffee is good, too.

You have written about "whitewashing" in YA before. Since you last wrote about it, do you feel things have stayed the same or changed one way or another?

I have so many feelings on this issue, from whitewashing of YA covers to the lack of diversity in YA books. I feel like the more we talk about it, the more progress will be made in getting all types of teens represented on and in YA books.

How did you meet your critque partners?

Oh, various ways. Mostly I stalk them down and beg them for their help. But, really, I met most of them at local SCBWI events. SCBWI is such a great opportunity to meet people who are in your area!

What is one specific writing ritual you have?

MUSIC. I need music to write. I have a playlist of music for this book that evokes the feelings I'm going for when I write, but I also find that I work well with the same album or even the same song on repeat. I need the music to set the mood, but I can't let myself get too distracted by the lyrics.

Tell us a bit about what you're working on now, if you'd like! (SIDEBAR, READERS. I was given the honor of reading a beta version of this manuscript and I just... It is going to blow you away. AWAY, I TELL YOU!)

Sure! It's about a girl who road-trips to surprise her online best friend and finds out he's been keeping some secrets from her. Sort of a romantic comedy version of the show/documentary Catfish.

That is such a fabulous agenting story--I remember back when it happened, I had only been blogging for a few months, and that was the first time I realized that, like, normal people with jobs and blogs and things can actually be writers. (It's possible that I learned about queries and agents by reading your story!) It definitely got me thinking about my own writing aspirations--thanks for the inspiration!

Realistic romantic contemporary YA is also my favorite. I think I first followed Jessica's blog after seeing a comment about writing diverse characters. I agree, I want to see more diversity in YA. I think it's there, but it often seems those books aren't getting the big pushes from publishers. You have to scout them out at the library.

I recently started following Jessica's blog and what I've heard about her story sounds amazing, plus she sounds so lovely and is a big fan of Anna and the French Kiss so extra points there! Contemporary realistic YA romance is my favourite genre too! What a lucky duck getting to read her amazing-sounding story early; I love a good road trip read :)

Love this interview, especially since I'm new to following you both. Thanks for sharing!

Welcome

Hey, I'm Kelsey, author of DAMSEL DISTRESSED (Spencer Hill Contemporary Oct. 2014). This book is my first, a YA novel being presented with IMOGEN UNLOCKED, a full album of original songs inspired by the book and written/performed by me and my band, Wedding Day Rain.

I'm so excited to share the story of Imogen with you through words and music. Please check out DamselDistressed.com for tons of information, content, and my street team, #OMGen.
My work is represented by Jessica Sinsheimer of the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency.